Daitari Naik, a 70-year-old tribal man of Baitarani village under Banspal block of Keonjhar district in Odisha, has carved a kilometre-long canal out of a mountain stream to irrigate farmlands in the absence of such facilities in the region.
Many villages in the forested, mountainous and tribal-dominated blocks of Banspal, Telkoi and Harichandanpur face acute water scarcity. The lack of drinking water leaves no water for irrigation in the region, putting villagers in the mercy of erratic rain for cultivation. In a story startlingly similar to that of Dashrath Manjhi of Bihar - who is fondly, and in reference to the work that he did in breaking down a mountain, called the 'Mountain Man' - Naik too has built a canal, which has brought water to his village, by breaking rocks.
Read more of this in a report by Naresh Chandra Pattanayak published in The Times of India....
(Must compliment Times of India for bringing such stories of individuals who do so much for the community they live in. This story of Daitani Naik is one such story, where the canal that he has carved will not only water his field but of all others too. Such stories give a boost to others, acts as an example, who can do similar activities. - Editor)
